The Opera organizes its grand event of integrated arts entitled Faust Ball on 14 February 2015. Similar to the first ball in 2014 entitled Silver Rose Ball, its main mission is a charitable cause: the guests contribute to the purchase of an ambulance for the Hungarian National Emergency Ambulance Service. Special guest of the ball is international superstar soprano Angela Gheorghiu.

At the end of January, between two regular concerts, the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra gives another one in memory of the victims of the holocaust. The winter concert series feature renowned conductors as well as young, award-winning soloists.

As the first premiere in 2015, the Hungarian State Opera produces The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky. So far it has only been featured in the repertoire of the Opera only once – it was put on stage 35 years ago. In the production by director Ferenc Anger two international guest artists make their Hungarian debut on 18 January 2015.

It has been exactly 130 years since the Budapest Opera opened its gates on 27 September, 1884. The Hungarian State Opera commemorates the anniversary of the opening with crowds in period costumes, an extraordinary gala concert, the premier of a film, and the publication of a historical book.

Following last year’s MozartLateNight, this is the turn of two French composers to shake things up as their one-act operas take us to the exotic world of the Orient. Bizet’s Djamileh is a steamy tale, set on the banks of the Nile, about a slave woman who falls in love with her captor, while Saint-Saëns’s La Princesse Jaune (The Yellow Princess) is one about a Dutchman’s delirious vision of a Japanese phantasm. Strictly for over 18s only!

Events

Many opera composers have been “possessed” by the Devil over the last 250 years, including Boito, Schnittke, Schubert,
Weber, Busoni and Stravinsky. But perhaps the most famous operatic adaptation is Gounod’s French grand opera, which is
based on the first part of Goethe’s Faust, a work of literature that absolutely occupies the top tier of world literature. For more
than a century, the piece has been an indispensable element of any self-respecting opera company’s repertoire, and to this
day remains among the most frequently performed operas.

Gounod’s aim was not an operatic adaptation of Goethe’s masterpiece. His grand opera is much more intent on summoning
up the composer’s world: Walpurgis Night, the Golden Calf Song and the Jewel Aria all conjure forth the steamy and
dissipated Paris of his time. Born from the libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré was a perfumed and smoky drama spiced
with elements of romance and horror, as well as gothic motifs: a story of romance, the supernatural, religion, and the eternal
battle against satanic powers.

Our 2015 production also opens the May anniversary festival of our Faust season: Michael Znaniecki, the renowned Polish
opera director, will be working in Hungary for the first time.